


with every broken bone (i swear i lived)

by Speedey_gonzales



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Babies, Dead May Parker (Spider-Man), F/M, Hitchhiking, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Howard Stark's Bad Parenting, I'll add tags as the story progresses, I'm Bad At Tagging, Mechanic Tony Stark, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Peter Parker is Tony Stark's Biological Child, Peter Parker is a Mess, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Presumed Dead, Sad Peter Parker, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, screw endgame, yeah - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-14 13:34:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29046963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Speedey_gonzales/pseuds/Speedey_gonzales
Summary: Tony Stark has lost everything. His son. The love of his life. His team.No one would care if he dies.So that's exactly what he does.__________Peter Parker has lost everything. His parents. His aunt. His uncle.He has nothing left for him in the city.So he leaves.
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark, past Pepper Potts/Tony Stark - Relationship
Comments: 23
Kudos: 87





	1. newspaper

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all!  
> This is my first ever long fic, and I'm hoping to make this a good one. The idea just popped into my head and I needed to get it down asap. This is set post civil war, and we are going to ignore thanos.
> 
> the title of this fic is from the song I Lived by OneRepublic

To say that Tony wasn’t doing well was an understatement. Don’t get him wrong, he was trying to be better. For Charlie. 

_Who I failed._

_Who’s gone._

_Who was taken from me._

He just didn’t have any reason to live anymore. The pressure from Obie wasn’t helping either. So he started drinking again. He had quit when Charlie was born. To be better. 

_But now there’s no point._

He had no one. Charlie. Jarvis. His mom. _Gone._ Pepper, Rhodey and Obie were there of course. They said he could talk to them whenever. They just didn’t _understand._

So he threw himself into the booze, the sex, the parties. To forget. 

________________________________________

_“Wait, you’re being serious?”_

_Tony slammed his hands on his worktable. “You’re not fucking with me right?”_

_“I’m fully, completely serious Tony. The girl is sure, and we did a background test. We’ve prepared for this. We’ll just pay her for her silence and for child support, then we won’t have to even think about it.” stated Obadiah, ever the image of indifference._

_“I have a goddamn child! It’s not going to go away with money!” Tony exclaimed, a mixture of fear and excitement._

_“Okay, then here’s what we are going to do.” Obadiah sat across the table, linked his fingers together and leaned back. “We’ll meet Elizabeth, get a DNA test and go from there. Oh and I’m doing the talking.”_

________________________________________

When Afghanistan happened, and he created Iron Man he felt like he was actually doing something good for the world. Obadiah’s betrayal stung, but he got over it. 

What happened after is history. Palladium poisoning. Aliens attacked New York. He flew into a wormhole, ready to put his life on the line. He survived, and received more nightmares and panic attacks in return. The Mandarin. Sokovia. Ultron. 

But he got a team, however broken it was. A group of misfits, grouped together with now warning. Earth's Mightiest Heroes, better known as the Avengers. They couldn’t understand his pain either _._ They tried to, but they all had their own problems. But he felt like he was getting better. Over time, the grief dulled from that sharp pain to a blunt, soft pain that was always there, never gone. 

________________________________________

_Obadiah and Tony visited Elizabeth at her home, which was in the middle of nowhere. No one was to know where they went, or why. If word got out, there would be chaos. The girl would have no privacy, and neither would they. The tabloids were always searching for drama, and they found a lot around billionaire Tony Stark._

_Elizabeth was whip smart and beautiful. She had no family, or no partners. She had gone to a science convention in New York to get out of her boring, small town life. She met a very charismatic, but drunk Tony Stark there. For some unknown reason, he had taken interest in her, and immediately swept her off her feet. A month after, she figured out she was pregnant. She decided not to tell Stark until the baby was born, just to be sure._

_When she opened her door to Tony Stark and Obadiah Stane she was surprised. Granted, she did send a message about her baby, but it was another thing for them to show up unannounced._

_But there stood Tony Stark, his signature glasses perched on his nose._

_“Hi. Are you Elizabeth Miller?”_

________________________________________

There were moments where it felt like the pain was gone. When he was laughing alongside his team. When he was saving people. When he had Pepper. But she eventually left, not able to deal with the broken man that he was. 

And then his team left too. The Accords tore them apart. The lingering tensions that were still there after Ultron intensified. Tony couldn't kill anymore people. He couldn't trust himself. He couldn't trust his team to operate of their own anymore either. Tony had tried, _tried,_ to pick up the pieces, to keep the team together. Nat’s betrayal drove a knife into his heart, widening the cracks. Then came Siberia. 

_Barnes killed my mom. And Steve knew._

That betrayal was the final blow. His heart was already shattered before the shield drove through it. 

_I have no one. No one cares whether I die. So maybe I should._

And he did.

________________________________________

A fifteen year old boy picked up a newspaper on the ground. A backpack was slung around his shoulders, his only belongings. To everyone else, he was just a regular high schooler on the way to school. What they didn’t know was that he had nowhere else to go, no family, no one. All dead. _Gone_. What they also didn’t know was that at nights he swung around Queens in a makeshift suit as Spiderman, although that hadn’t happened recently. The suit was stuffed at the bottom at his backpack, along with a wad of money.

_Fucking Parker Luck._

He started walking to the bus stop. He was getting the fuck out of Queens. 

________________________________________

  
  


_TONY STARK DECLARED DEAD: IS HE REALLY?_

6 months ago, Tony Stark aka Iron Man, went missing from the public during what the media dubbed as the ‘Civil War’ between the Avengers. No one knows what happened, except that 3 months ago, Pepper Potts released a statement three months ago that Tony Stark had passed away. 

No details have sprung up since then, and there is speculation that he might’ve been murdered by our own Captain America who is now a fugitive. Others say that he was kidnapped, or had become a fugitive on the run. There are also rumors that he faked his own death. Our sources say…..


	2. letter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An accident, a letter, and a town.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys!
> 
> For the purpose of this fic, Tony never recruited Spider-Man because he couldn't figure out his identity.
> 
> Enjoy!

Peter was having a surprisingly good day. He had actually stopped a mugger last night without getting hurt. He had also stopped a guy from stealing a car by webbing his hand to a door. Turns out it was his own car. Well the webbing did dissolve. Eventually. It had already been more than a couple months since he got bit by that spider in Oscorp. _And Ben died_. He shook his head trying to displace his thoughts. Anyways, Flash hadn’t picked on him today, and he had gotten a good score in algebra. 

“Hey dude, wanna come over to build the new Millenium Falcon after school?” asked Ned from behind, startling Peter from his thoughts. 

“Yeah sure dude, I’ll have to ask May—” Suddenly there was a sharp tingling sensation behind his neck. The hair rose on his arms and there was a feeling of _wrong_. “Sorry Ned, I-I have to go.”

“Wait, Peter we still have school. Wha—” Peter was too busy running to his apartment to notice Ned.

________________________________________

_When Obie had told Tony that Elizabeth lived in the middle of nowhere he was correct. Wakefield was a couple hours away from civilization in all directions. In Kansas of all places. Her house was small and off white, with a porch._

_Tony tried to keep a facade of calm, like Obie. His hands were shaking, so he shoved them in his pockets. They walked up to the front door, and Obie gestured to Tony to knock. Tony took a deep breath and knocked._

_A gorgeous brunette opened the door. Tony couldn’t recall her at all. She was practically a stranger, yet they had a baby._

_Tony, with his hands in his pockets, his glasses shielding him from the world asked, “Are you Elizabeth Miller?”_

________________________________________

Peter fumbled with his keys to the apartment. “Come on, come on!” Finally sticking the key in the lock, he slammed the door open. 

“May? Are you home?” He called. “AUNT MAY!” Something was wrong. Definitely wrong. He could feel it. His sixth sense was going off. He felt a sharp pain run down his spine, and then the phone started ringing. He rushed to pick it up, and held it to his ear.

“May? Is that you?”

“Uh no. Is this Mr. Parker? Peter Parker?”

“Yeah, who’s this?”

“Umm it’s Linda from work. I um don’t know how to say this, Peter, but—”

“Is it May? Is my aunt okay?” Peter felt a sense of dread. He knew what she was about to say before she even said it. “She’s gone isn’t she?”

“Peter, there was an accident. I’m sorry, but your aunt passed away at noon today.” Peter couldn’t breathe. It was as if the air was sucked out of him. “I-I have to g-go.”

He slammed the phone down. Why did this always have to happen to him? He didn’t cry. He couldn’t cry. He had to stay strong. _Stay strong my ass._

He stormed into May’s bedroom. He was so angry, so frustrated. _Why?_ He punched the wall, leaving a gaping hole. _Why?_ He ripped the mattress right off the bed. _Why?_ He kicked the bedside cabinet. _WHY?_ He fell down sobbing, lying on his back. The cabinet came falling down with a crash, a peculiar yellow envelope floating out of it. Peter sniffed, not bothering to wipe the tears rolling down his cheeks. 

He picked up the envelope, a few droplets falling on top of it. HE flipped it over, and there his name was, written in loopy handwriting. Peter was confused. _From Mom._ Wait, Mom? His parents died in a plane crash when he was five. He didn’t really know them well. Just flashes of memory. Why would May even have this? 

He almost started sobbing again. Maybe she would tell him if she were here. If she was alive. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath in. He tore open the envelope seal, and pulled out the letter inside. He took another deep breath and braced himself.

_Hi Peter,_

_If you are reading this letter, that means Richard and I are gone. It also means I wasn’t able to explain this to you in person. Oh, my baby boy. I gave this to your aunt and uncle t_ _o give this to you on your eighteenth, just in case we didn’t make it. Knowing our work and what we do, it’s very likely that we wouldn’t make it._

_Petey, there is no simple way to put this. We aren’t your biological parents. We don’t know who they are._

Peter almost dropped the letter. His parents weren’t his parents? His uncle wasn’t actually his uncle? May wasn’t actually his aunt? Was his life a lie?

_Richard and I, we were involved in a lot of things. I’m not going to go into detail, but a lot of it was bad. We were able to get out and were recruited by an organization. One day,_ _we were going to a lab to gather information, but when we got there it was in flames. We rushed in, trying to see if there was anything of value left. It was completely empty,_ _except for one thing. You. We found you lying in the corner on cardboard boxes, crying your eyes out. You were the most beautiful thing in the world. There was a piece of_ _paper next to you, with what must’ve been details about you. The only thing I caught was a town name. Wakefield, Kansas. To sum things up, we decided to take you home to_ _keep you safe. That’s it Petey, that’s all we know about where you came from. Just know that we love you very much, and you are our son even though we aren’t related._

_Love,_

_Mom_

This letter left Peter with more questions than answers. Who were his real parents? Why was he in a lab and had he been kidnapped? Had May known about his parentage? Had Ben known? He wanted to break down again. He couldn’t. Child Protective Services would be coming soon. He couldn’t be put into the system. He had to leave. It’s not like he had a life left for him in Queens, or in New York for that matter. Sure, there was Spider-Man, but he didn’t he could put that mask back on again. He had Ned, but he couldn’t bother him. He wouldn’t. So he had to leave. _But where to?_ Wakefield. In Kansas. Maybe he’d get more answers there. 

He had to pack quickly. He grabbed a backpack, and stuffed some clothes in. He took as many protein bars as he could fit. He had to take care of his metabolism somehow. He opened a drawer in his room, and grabbed the wad of bills that he had stored there for emergencies. _$135._ He checked May’s room and found a couple of hundred bills there as well. _So altogether $300_ . That was it. He slung the backpack over his shoulders. He had taken everything of importance. _Wait._ After a moment of hesitation, he grabbed his suit, and stuffed it into the bottom of the backpack. Now he was done. He took in another calming breath, trying to stave of tears. One still leaked through. He was leaving his home, but he had nothing left here. 

He threw on his warmest hoodie and stepped out of the apartment, not looking back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> I've started the next chapter but I don't know when I will be able to finish. If you have any ideas for this fic please leave them in the comments, they are really helpful.


	3. crib

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter had never hitchhiked before. He had no idea what he was doing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all!
> 
> As you will probably see, I have no idea how hitchhiking works, but I tried my best!
> 
> Enjoy!

A man stood outside a house, one that had been vacant for over fifteen years. It was small and offwhite, with a porch. He sighed rubbing his unshaven face. This would have to do. It’s not like he had any other choice. 

He grabbed his suitcase in one hand, and a smaller, peculiar red and silver suitcase in the other. He took a deep breath and smiled. He had nothing to worry about anymore. He was finally free.

________________________________________

_ Tony stepped inside the small, dainty house, pocketing his glasses. He glanced at Obadiah, who was staring at him. He frowned a little. What was his deal? _

_ “So Miss Miller, you know why we are here,” started Obie, smiling with no emotions.  _

_ “I assume you would like to see the baby,” said Elizabeth, looking directly at Tony. He glanced at Obie.  _

_ “Yes of course. But first we have to-” _

_ “Hey, uh Elizabeth _ — _ can I call you Elizabeth _ — _ yeah Elizabeth, do you have a bathroom here I can use?” Tony asked. He couldn’t deal with this right now. He needed to get out of this room. She tilted her head, narrowing her eyes a bit.  _

_ “It’s down the hall, second door to the right,” she said. _

_ He calmly walked down the hall, but his hands were shaking again. He paused, and covered his eyes with his hands. He could hear Obadiah and Elizabeth talking in the kitchen. He shook his head and opened the door to the bathroom.  _

_ He entered a pale blue room. In the corner was a white crib. He could see a tuft of curly brown hair, sticking out of blankets. This was definitely not the bathroom.  _

________________________________________

Peter had never hitchhiked before. He barely got out of the city. The last time that he had left New York was for Academic Decathlon, when they made it to states. Peter had been so excited. They had lost, but this was the first time they had got out of state for a competition. May had come to watch, cheering so loudly, and embarrassing Peter. 

He was tearing up again and bit his lip so hard that it started to bleed. Peter had taken the bus out as far as he could from the city with his bus pass. He walked down a highway with his thumb held up for what seemed like hours. He had never done this before. So many cars rushed by, and he was sure that no one would stop for him. He pulled out his phone, which Peter put on silent, staring at the string of texts from Ned. He closed his eyes, and stuffed his phone back into his pocket. That was his old life. He was starting a new one.

He was getting hungry, but he couldn’t waste the minimal food he had with him right now. This was going to be torture, especially because of his metabolism. Right when he was about to give in to his stomach, his senses tingled and a pickup truck pulled over next to him.

“Hey kid, need a ride?”

________________________________________

_ Tony was in shock. This was a baby’s bedroom. His baby’s bedroom. Not taking his eyes off the crib, he moved to open the door and get out, but suddenly the baby started fussing and snuffling. Tony crept quietly towards the crib until he was right over it. _

_ The baby opened his big, brown eyes, and Tony knew. This was his baby, for sure. No doubt. He could see his own eyes in his baby’s. The baby reached for his face with one chubby hand. He hesitated for a moment, then leaned forward so the baby was touching him _

_ “Hi,” Tony whispered, smiling. The baby giggled softly. “You’re just one bundle of joy aren’t you?” The baby laughed even louder. Tony cooed. He never expected that he would be good with babies. He thought that his baby would hate him, echoes of his own childhood. His father never treated him with love.  _

_ Tony was too busy playing with the baby, and didn’t notice the people entering the room.  _

________________________________________

Everett Fenton, as he introduced himself, was a construction manager and was driving to Ohio, Peter learned. He talked a lot, and didn’t mind that Peter didn’t talk much either. He didn’t ask Peter’s age or question why someone so young was walking alone on the highway. He was talking about the architecture of the latest building he oversaw when Peter interrupted him.

“Uh Mr. Fenton, if you don't mind me asking, why did you decide to stop for me on the highway? I mean, like, no one stopped for me and just looked at me weird,” Peter asked, fidgeting with his sleeves.

“Well, I hitchhiked before. I was actually running away from home. I was living alone with an abusive father. I had to get out. So I went to New York to start anew.” Peter looked up. 

“Oh I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright. It was years ago,” Mr. Fenton assured with a sad look on his face. “So whenever I see someone on the road, I always try to repay the kindness I got from the people that picked me up back then.”

“Thanks for picking me up. I-I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t. I’m Peter, by the way. I don’t think I said that,” he mumbled.

“No worries kid. Now where are you headed?” he said, glancing at Peter.

“Kansas,” Peter said with a shrug.

“Wow Kansas is a long ways away. I’ll bet that you haven’t got any sleep lately. It’ll be a few hours ‘till we need to stop for gas, and I suggest you take a nap.”

Peter was wary of sleeping in a car with a stranger. But he was hungry and tired. His spidey senses were quiet, and he could handle himself if anything bad were to happen. Plus he had the feeling that he could trust Mr. Fenton.

He didn’t know what would happen after Mr. Fenton dropped him off in Ohio. He might not have good luck like he did this time. He sighed and closed his eyes, trying to forget everything that happened and everything that he might have to face in the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> If you have any suggestions of what to do in this story please please leave them in the comments. I have an outline for the story but need suggestions for things to fill it up with.
> 
> I will probably update sometime next week!


	4. protein bars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter finally buys himself food, but faces many troubles ahead of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!
> 
> Sorry it took so long to update. I think I will try to aim for weekly update, maybe bi-weekly if possible. Uh as you can probably see I suck at chapter title and summaries... oh well. I tried.
> 
> But, anyways, enjoy!

Peter woke up to someone shaking his shoulders.

“Kid… Hey Peter wake up!”

He forced his eyes open, blearily looking at the man staring at him “Whaaa-”

“Good morning, how’s it going?” Everett said, noticing the boy waking up. 

“Wha—Mr. Fenton?” The man handed Peter a water bottle.

“I’ll bet that you’re parched.” Now that Peter noticed it, he realized that he was thirsty. _Really thirsty._ He hadn’t drank water in so long, too focused on conserving it. Screwing the cap off, he quickly downed half of the water.

“Hah, thanks for that, you didn’t have to.” Peter sighed, wiping his mouth.

“No worries. Anyways, we’ve reached our destination.”

“Uh, I guess this is where I’ll be saying goodbye.” Peter shrugged and smiled sadly. He moved to get out of the car, when Mr. Fenton laid a hand softly on his shoulder, stopping him. He hastily scribbled something down onto a post-it and handed it to Peter.

“Here, kid. That’s my number. Now if you need anything, just give me a holler.” Peter accepted gratefully, and tucked it safely into his pocket. “If you plan on hitchhiking to Kansas, make sure you seem confident. Don’t show weakness. Smile, and make conversation. Be careful of who you get into a car with, use your common sense. Be prepared for anything.”

“Thanks so much, Mr. Fenton. Uh I-I don’t know what I would’ve done without you,” Peter mumbled.

“Like I said before, no worries. Good luck on your journey kid,” Everett said. Peter waved goodbye, and sat down on the curb of the gas station with his head in his hands, sobbing. It just hit him how _alone_ he was. He was on his own. There was no one to lean on. Not May. Not Ben. Not his parents. Not Ned. _Alone._ And he was starving.

________________________________________

_Someone cleared their throat behind him. Tony turned around with a sheepish smile. Obie raised his eyebrows, his expression asking what Tony was doing in a baby’s bedroom. Tony opened his mouth to speak but the baby in question interrupted him, giggling and pulling on his sleeve. Tony looked down and smiled._

_“I see you’ve met Charlie, your son,” Elizabeth spoke up softly._

_“Miss Miller, we still haven’t verified that-” Obadiah started._

_“Mr. Stane I can assure you-”_

_“Obie I’m certain that this is my son. I’m certain. He has my eyes.” Tony interrupted. Elizabeth smiled at him gratefully._

_“Tony, my boy, we still haven’t verified if this baby is your son , and I’d like to get a DNA test done as soon as possible,” Obie stated with an expression that assured Tony that he was going to get a talking to later._

_“Hmm fine,” answered Tony, sensing that he had no other choice. Turning to Elizabeth, he said, “You said his name was Charlie?”_

_“Yes, Charles Benjamin Miller, my little angel,” she said, not looking at Tony, but at the baby playing in the crib._

_Charles Benjamin Stark, Tony thought to himself. He grinned. He couldn’t believe that he had accepted it so fast. He couldn’t believe he was a father._

________________________________________

Peter hadn’t used any money. Sitting on the curb near the gas station he realized he still had $300. He should save it, but he wanted—needed—to eat something other than the protein bars he packed. This might be the only time he’d be able to find food. 

_Oh fuck it_. As he grabbed some money from the bottom of his backpack, his fingers grazed the goggles of his Spider-Man suit. 

He closed his eyes trying to shut out all the memories from his old life. He wasn’t Spider-Man anymore. He was just Peter Parker, an orphan. 

He grabbed $10 to try and find something from the gas station store. He threw his backpack on and walked on inside. 

Thirty minutes later, Peter stretched his arms, his stomach full for the first time in a long while. He stared at the sky. It was the afternoon, and he should probably get a ride soon before it got dark. 

He started walking along the interstate highway, thumb up. There was a forest right next to him, and he occupied himself by listening to the sounds of the woodland, trying to match them to different animals. A regular person wouldn’t have been able to hear that well, but he was normal, was he?

Soon it started to get darker, and Peter still hadn’t gotten a ride yet. It was getting colder and he wrapped his coat closer. He was tired and freezing. _I guess it’s time to stop for tonight._ He didn’t plan for not getting a ride today. So Peter had no choice but to lie down right there next to the highway, next to the forest. 

He curled up into a ball, hoping for someone to come rescue him. He resisted the urge to open his phone and contact someone, but he couldn’t risk getting caught by CPS. He couldn’t be put into the foster system. Worrying about his future, Peter cried himself to sleep, with cold ache he felt deep in his bones. 

________________________________________

_On the plane ride back home, Tony braced himself for a lecture from Obie. Right on cue, Obadiah cleared his throat. Tony looked at him expectantly._

_“You’re absolutely sure he’s your kid,” Obie said, not asking a question._

_“Yes, and? What’s your point Obie?” the genius questioned his mentor._

_Ignoring the question, Obadiah continued, “And you’re sure you can take care of a baby.”_

_“Well, I’m not going to be taking care of him all by myself, am I? There’s Elizabeth,” Tony countered. Obie massaged the bridge of his nose._

_“You can barely take care of yourself, let alone Stark Industries. What are you going to do with a baby?”_

_“I don’t know if I could take care of the baby. All I know is that I want to be in my kid’s life, unlike my asshole of a father. I may not be the best dad, but let me tell you right now, I’ll try my damndest, and won’t let you stop me this time Obie!” exclaimed Tony forcefully._

_Obadiah lifted his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay. We are still doing the DNA test though.” And that was that. Tony knew that at this point, the DNA test was only a formality._

_He had to tell Rhodey about this. But how was he going to break it to him?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> And as always, if you have any recommendations, suggestions, or ideas I could add to the story, please leave them in the comments!


	5. road trip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So what happened to Tony?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!
> 
> I wasn't planning on finishing this chapter until later... but here I am. I think this might be my favorite chapter. I wasn't planning on having Tony meet Peter yet, but the comments from the last chapter gave me an idea.
> 
> Anyways, enjoy!

He was living his best life. No camera flashes, no questions, nothing. He could do whatever the hell he wanted and no one would give a flying fuck. 

He wasn’t a nanny to the Avengers anymore, wasn’t a puppet to Fury or Ross. No board meetings, no Pepper nagging at him to meet a deadline. Pepper. Oh, how he missed her. It just didn’t work out. They were better off as friends. Well, they weren’t exactly friends. They were on speaking terms. Ish. Up until he (fake) died of course. Faking his death was so much easier than he thought it would be

He had gone all the way to Kansas to take a break. Wakefield, Elizabeth’s home. Charlie’s home. The perfect place to retire. Rhodey was the only one who knew, sworn to secrecy about him being alive. Tony had sent a pair of state-of-the-art leg braces for his honeybear as soon as he could without suspicion. 

Tony clenched his jaw at the thought of the wayward Avengers, all the hurt and troubles they caused. Rhodey’s fall and his paralysis. But Rhodey was as strong and composed as ever. He was more worried about Tony than himself. 

Tony tried to assure him that faking his death was the best course of action for him. Rhodey had reluctantly accepted it, pleading him to at least tell Pepper. He couldn’t do that. Phondey was the only one that could know.

________________________________________

_ Rhodey walked into Tony’s lab, expecting to see him elbow-deep into another project or weapon. Or drunk. He didn’t expect him to be shopping. That too, baby shopping. Tony had multiple holograms surrounding him each one advertising a different crib, toy, or clothing. He didn’t even notice Rhodey walk in.  _

_ “Sir if I may interrupt, Colonel Rhodes has arrived,” Jarvis breaks Tony out of his trance. He looked up and smiled at Rhodey. Also very unusual. _

_ “Honeybear! What brings you to my humble abode?” _

_ “Tony, you invited me,” Rhodey deadpanned. _

_ “Oh well. Oops. I’ve been kind of immersed in a project,” Tony turned around, seeming to only realize that he was still surrounded by holograms about babies. He glanced back at Rhodey, who crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow in suspicion. Tony scratched the back of his head. “Uh, about that. Um.” _

_ Rhodey interrupted him. “Let me guess. You’ve discovered that you have a child. Stane probably doesn’t want you to associate with them, and brought up Howard. You act like you don’t care, but you are actually nervous and kind of excited. And you want to keep the baby, am I right?” He tilted his head knowingly at Tony. _

_ “Wha-how okay you know me too well. That basically summed it up.” _

_ “Are you planning on telling anyone?” _

_ “Nope. Only you, me and Obie know, and that’s it.” Tony said, shrugging. Rhodey guessed that he had thought about it a lot. _

_ “Are you sure? Not even your PA, Virginia? I think it would be good to have at least someone else know.” _

_ “It’s Pepper actually, but no. Only if absolutely necessary. If word got out, it would be a disaster.” _

_ “Look at you, making good decisions for once,” Rhodey said, smirking. Tony playfully punched him on the shoulder. _

_ “Hey, I’ll let you know that I make good decisions everyday.” Tony exclaimed, tilting his head up. _

_ “Uh huh, if you think so.” _

________________________________________

The town was in the middle of nowhere. No one recognized him as Tony Stark. To everyone, he was Anthony Carbonell. No one suspected he was a billionaire. He was just the new mechanic who moved into the old, white house down the street. He wasn’t a genius, just good at fixing things. 

He met Betty who owned the cafe-slash-bar down the street. He met Arnold who owned the electronic store that Tony frequented. He met Joshua, the truck driver from two houses down, who travelled all over the country. And they had no clue about him.

After a few happy weeks in Wakefield, Tony decided that it was time to see the country, see the sights that he was never able to visit. With the paparazzi following him everywhere, especially after Iron Man, he wasn’t able to travel for himself all that much. But he could do that now with no trouble. 

He had made up his mind. He was going on a road trip, away from the small, but futuristic workshop he had created in his new house.That had taken some time. Longer than he expected, but that was probably due to the fact that he couldn’t spend large amounts of money at one time. And he had no help.

So here he was in the middle of Ohio, driving down an empty highway in the middle of the night, AC/DC blasting, when he saw a person lying down on the side of the road. He was planning on driving right past, thinking it was just some drunk.

As he got closer he realized it was a kid. A kid around fourteen or fifteen. A part of him wanted to avoid more trouble, but he couldn’t just leave the boy there. He sighed, and pulled his car over. 

________________________________________

Peter got a sense of déjà vu, waking up to someone shaking his shoulder. Except this time he wasn’t in a bed or in a car. He was lying down on a road. And it was cold. So cold.

“Kid! Hey kid, wake up!”

“M’ster F’nton?” he muttered groggily, cracking his eye open. That wasn’t Mr. Fenton. 

“Uh, I’m not Mr. Fenton. Sorry kid.” Peter opened his eyes fully. It was dark out, and he was shivering. “Oh wow kid, you seem really cold.” The man threw a jacket over Peter’s shoulders. Peter cursed his spider powers. Spiders couldn’t thermoregulate. 

“So kid, do you need a ride? I’m Anthony, by the way.”

“Peter,” the boy said. Anthony tilted his head confused. “I’m Peter.”

“Well, Peter, let’s blow this popsicle stand,” Anthony smiled, his eyes sparkling. He held out his hand. Peter took it, a small smile appearing on his face.  _ Thank you for saving me. _

“Thank you.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Again, if you have any ideas for this fic please leave them in the comments!


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